south end 
There are currently 7 blog entries related to this category.
Dirt Gets Pricey, Too
Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013 at 4:38pm. 156 Views, 0 Comments.
The recent sale of 1804 Agnes serves as a reminder that finding a lot for a custom build is getting costlier by the day.
You can definitely say this flat lot at Agnes on a sleepy street boasts a prime location.
However, the 4780 sq. ft. lot size is average, and the backyard exposure will be to the east – less sunny in the afternoon – so we're not looking at pluses on every front.
So the sale price, after multiple bids, at $1.700M, is a wake-up call.
Wasn't it just last year that 1805 John shocked onlookers (and the 19 losing bidders) with a sale at $1.352M?
But that lot was a tad bigger (5065 sq. ft.) and with western exposure on the back. About the only major liability of the lot was (is) the giant eucalyptus in the front yard, which
…Moderns Sweeping MB?
Tuesday, March 26th, 2013 at 9:41am. 566 Views, 0 Comments.
Modern architecture in Manhattan Beach got a nice little plug in the LA Times recently, in a Saturday section feature about a privately commissioned new construction project.
"Cool, not cold," the headline proclaimed – thereby expressing the liability of the "modern" style (cold) and the hope people have for something clean, livable and great (cool) when approaching a home crafted in the style.
Devotees of moderns have had a good run of choices on the market here in MB recently.
Right in front of you every day here on MBC for a couple of weeks has been 700 27th St., a modern crafted by an architect for her family, offered at $2.250M (listed by Dave). Tonight we're ready to review offers, and we can report for now, at least, that the interest has
Knocking Down the South End Strand
Wednesday, March 20th, 2013 at 2:46pm. 510 Views, 0 Comments.
It was a little bit of a surprise, 18 months ago or so ago, to see 112 The Strand get knocked down.
It had been a completely livable, large 1988-built home, and it went for a price you'd think should maybe come with a house: $7.334M (May 2010).
But that turned out to be how someone valued the dirt alone.
They knew what they wanted: A South End lot on The Strand to build on. They took what was available and paid what they needed to pay. And then they got under way. The project has gone on a while, with a vast, deep basement carved out before the current 3-story structure sprouted. It'll be huge.
That $7M+ sale marked out a new high end for South End Strand lot values, but the question was: Would that sort of number be hit again at a time when
…Look Who Found Buyers
Friday, February 8th, 2013 at 2:46pm. 385 Views, 0 Comments.
Tight inventory will do that. It's as if you can't fail to sell these days. Even properties that are not on the market.
Two odd houses that have sold recently come to mind.
Way down south on one of the great family walkstreets, 505 7th (3br/4ba, 2750 sq. ft.) has sold off market.This is a home that ran 5 months on market in 2011 without success.
Here at MBC, in July 2011, we called it "a curiosity in terms of design and layout," noting "echoes of the home's 70s vintage supplemented by newer updates."
This was a fairly gentle way of saying the home was peculiar and needed work. We toured it with clients who'd have loved to be down on the flat walkstreets, but people just…
Starting Over at 512 1st
Friday, October 19th, 2012 at 6:18pm. 199 Views, 0 Comments.
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| Holy tilted house, Batman! |
It was a visual cue that something was awry with this mid-90s built contemporary.
That cue proved correct.
There was the very curious layout – 3br downstairs, the master on the third floor, living spaces sandwiched in between.
There was the odd use of the lot – a separate garage building up front on 1st St. with a guest unit/bonus room on top. A "yard" in between, but not on the sunny southern side of the lot.
And within the brazenly different building, there were quirks. One observer wrote: "[I]t does have a number of rooms with curved walls, which leave unusable corner spaces."
MBC said, "512 1st…
Some of This Week's Sales
Friday, October 5th, 2012 at 3:43am. 201 Views, 0 Comments.
One way to tell (part of) the tale is just to look at some of the most recent closed sales:
424 2nd (3br/4ba, 2550 sq. ft.) is nothing snazzy or special or perfect from any angle, just like all the other recent $1.7m-ish sales in the South End of the Sand Section.$1.7m seems like the "new normal" for something smallish and flawed, totally livable and kinda lovable, but really needing something more... in the hallowed South End.
The poor photos don't do the home much justice. It's a good layout. Huge garage. Comfy place. But it could use a lot. We hope it does not wind up a lot sale. (We've heard conflicting things about the plans for the property.)
Recent comps:
- 552 3rd (3br/3ba, 1850 sq. ft., $1.699m),
Busy South End
Friday, June 1st, 2012 at 3:13pm. 203 Views, 0 Comments.
The flat family walkstreets are their own kind of paradise – a "playborhood," to borrow a newly coined term – but the non-walkstreet areas are plenty nice as well. You can be close to school, the beach and just a few minutes' walk from town. No one from out of the area is going to be coming through much.
The action down south this year has been pretty quick when listings have come up. For example:
421 3rd (4br/3ba, 2500 sq. ft.) blew minds with a very quick deal at full price: $1.809m. We said in our late-March review that it's got: "a great South End location, a newer remodel and quite a bit of space – just enough to be comfy."
But…
